Craig Jessop, music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, said that someone told him that the performances on the tour looked effortless. Brother Jessop replied, "It's supposed to look that way."

Photo by Gerry Avant

The Orchestra at Temple Square's first violinist, Meredith Campbell, and Lynn Robinson of the Church's audio-visual department test an amplification device on her violin during a sound check. A sound check was held before each concert on the tour.

Brother Jessop said, "People think we just come and sing. What they see and hear is just the tip of the iceberg; the reality is that under that little tip of the iceberg is an immense support system that makes it look like a beautiful, calm iceberg is floating on the ocean. There are a lot of people underneath keeping it up."

Lynn Robinson and a crew of workers are seldom seen by anyone in an audience, yet they are among the hardest workers on a choir tour. Working with him on the Northwest Pacific States Tour were a crew of three working on sound, one working on lighting, a stage manager, and six who set up risers and an accoustical shell. Some of them performed more than one task.

Their work seemed endless. They arrived at venues with three semitrailers filled with tons of equipment, including risers, lights and trusses, and the shell which they set up and took down before and after each concert. "After the concert in Sacramento, the sound guys got out of the arena about 11:30 p.m. The staging guys got out about 12:30 a.m. We had call at 4:45 a.m. in order to be able to drive to Reno by 7 a.m. and start the load in," he said.

Their hard work paid off. Each concert had good lighting and excellent sound.

To stage a concert in an arena designed for sporting events is a challenge. Each string instrument in the orchestra had its own amplification; microphones and speakers were placed so that each section of the choir could be heard equally well.

While some of the crew are Church employees, many of the other crew members worked as volunteers during the tour, including drivers of the semis and two luggage trucks. Even the employees were volunteers, since they put in many more hours than are in the usual work week.

In addition to equipment for sound, lights and stage, a digital Rogers organ was transported to concert venues, except for the performance in Pocatello where 240 of the choir members performed on a smaller stage. With 40 speakers, the three-manual or three-keyboard organ provided state-of-the-art accompaniment. A crew custom voiced the organ, which has the equivalent of 137 ranks, to fit each hall.